After being defeated in the first leg at the Parc des Princes (0-1), Paris Saint-Germain was unable to reverse the trend in the second leg and lost again at Bayern Munich this Wednesday (0-2). Paris stopped in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the second year in a row.
Match: 2-0At the foot of the summit at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain remained at the bottom of the pass, cutting Bayern Munich’s legs out of the way, but mature enough to take him out. After his defeat on the way to the Park of the Princes (0-1), Paris was waiting for the flame of Mbappe or Messi to turn the tables, but the two geniuses remained in the penalty area. Like last season, Paris gave up its Champions League dream in the Round of 16.
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While waiting for Kylian Mbappe to enter the first leg, Paris Saint-Germain started this time with the light and the main player from the start of the match. After trying to bite two minutes later, Mbappe had no clear chance. The Bavarian defense did not abandon a single player, and with such attention focused on their striker, the collective Parisian team seemed to dominate at first, thanks to good pressure. After Messi, who was seized by Davies and then De Ligt (25th), Vitina had the greatest chance in the first period, when Sommer lost the ball under pressure from Hakimi. But the Portuguese did not press his shot, and De Ligt pushed him back in front of his line (38).
Paris Saint-Germain did not know how to make the difference in highlighting it, and then let itself be broken. Initially wary – relying solely on the miracle of Jamal Musiala to create danger (32nd, 43rd) – Bayern raised their voices after the break. The Bavarians put on great pressure by settling in the last Parisian thirty metres, and ended up taking advantage of an over-greedy Marco Verratti, victim to two men from Müller and Goretzka, who managed to find Choupo-Moting, in the turn of former discontent (61, see below).
The Parisian reaction, especially Ramos’ header which was slammed by Sommer (64th), was too light to change anything. Messi went through the match without flame, while Mbappe could not force fate, gagged. Bayern gave a lesson in the defensive efficiency of the silent Parisians in both matches, and Serge Gnabry killed the remaining suspense (90) after another loss of the ball from Verratti, the slogan of the Paris Saint-Germain QSI version whose hopes were dashed.Reality is still shattered.
Player: Choupo-Moting continues the traditionAfter coaching Kingsley Coman at Paris Saint-Germain, on his way out, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting continued the tradition of former Parisians becoming executioners. The Cameroonian international impressed very little in the first period, little more than that. Repris in extremis par Danilo (50e) avant d’être privé d’un but for un hors-jeu de Thomas Müller (52e), il a ouvert le score d’un plat du pied droit assuré (61e), for assommer son ancienne equipped.
Choupo-Moting had just escaped a card for a dangerous tackle on Nuno Mendes (56th), which was not going to quell the Parisian frustration. Nor are the following statistics: Five of Bayern’s last seven goals against Paris in the Champions League were scored by players who had previously played for Paris Saint-Germain (3 for Choupo-Moting, 2 for Koeman).
Fact: Marquinhos is injured, his replacement Mukiele toostill suffering from his intercostal rupture, Marquinhos cut short the warm-up At the Allianz Arena, but they started the game well. However, the Brazilian could not hold his position for a long time. Unable to go to the duel, embarrassed to speed up, the captain said he stopped after 35 minutes of play.
He left Kylian Mbappe’s armband and was replaced by Nordy Mukele, who was sharp with great speed (41′, 43′). The problem is, the latter was hit too quickly in turn. He did not go out on the field after the end of the first half, and he was replaced by the young Chadile Pecciapo, who was baptized in the Champions League at the age of 17. Promising, but not enough to move forward.
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